Dusky Jacinth
by Ocean
Summary: Inspired by Banjodog. The Shadows have never had to fear competition. But now they find that they do indeed have a competitor when it comes to Yami's affection. It is a cold night for Yuugi when the Shadows confront him. Some YY Complete


Disclaimer: Plain and simple. I do not own Yu Gi Oh.

A/N: Howdy howdy. This piece was really meant to help me develop a new character of mine for future stories. It was fun to write, actually. I'm not used to writing such a short little introspection. I have a feeling I'll be doing more of these in the future, especially since I am now taking a creative writing class that I absolutely love.

Anyway, I appreciate comments on this one. This character is still in the developmental stage and needs some work, but I'm happy with how he is so far. I hope you enjoy this insight into his development!

I'll be posting the next chapter of Let Us Dance on Saturday, for those of you who are interested. Thank you for your patience with this story.

- Ocean

_jacinth: a gem more nearly orange in color than a hyacinth_

_dark orange: can mean deceit and distrust_

**Dusky Jacinth**

_By Ocean_

Yuugi pulled his jacket tightly around himself. It was cold in the park on this late autumn night, and the depth of its chill was aided by the small lake that inhabited the park. The metal bench he was sitting on didn't help his cause either, even when he bent his knees to his chest to try and preserve his warmth.

It was late, and he was tired, but he made no effort to leave. The bright hue of the tree leaves was swallowed in the absence of the sun, though it was doubtful Yuugi would have noticed them. His eyes were lost in the distant haze of sleep and cold. He reached up and flicked the end of his nose, chuckling lightly when he didn't feel a thing and burying his hands between his knees and chest.

"You're cold."

Yuugi nodded, not at all affected by the sudden presence beside him. He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against his legs, willing himself to fall into a light sleep until it was time to go home.

The body beside him shifted experimentally before finding a comfortable position, which turned out to be leaning against Yuugi for support. Even with the light of the moon reflecting off the lake and the numerous street lamps that illuminated the area the figure was shrouded in mystery, its features blending and shifting into its surroundings, never still enough to ever be seen clearly. Yuugi shivered again at the touch, but made no move away from the additional cold.

"Why are we here?" the figure asked as it looked around curiously.

"He needed to think," Yuugi mumbled from his hunched position.

"Ah."

They sat in silence for a while, Yuugi's company looking around itself with a child's interest as Yuugi dozed restlessly. Most of Yuugi's unease was from the cold. The one beside him, oblivious of its affect on Yuugi as it seemed, pulled out a long piece of string, tied the ends together, settled itself against Yuugi again, and began an intense game of Cat's Cradle.

The Shadows really enjoyed games. Simple games. Ones that could be played quickly and easily and with great amusement. Games they could win with the littlest amount of effort, which was necessary so they could spend their energy on their favorite person.

Yuugi grunted softly as he tried shrugging off the weight against his shoulder unsuccessfully. He was irritated by the lateness of the hour and the chill of his skin and the present company. A frown pulled at his features, but he wasn't interested enough to move his protests further. He wasn't happy _they_ had decided to come out and keep him company.

The Shadows in their human form were never welcomed company in Yuugi's eyes.

The Shadows soon grew tired of their game, and with this momentary lull they flexed their energy, for a moment dimming all lights within a mile radius. It was similar in nature to a stretching of muscles, only on a much grander scale. They were bored, and they were antsy with the abundant energy of their magics that shifted and tickled and itched with its need to be used. The purpose was unimportant at the moment. The Shadows just wanted to _do_ something. They wanted to do something with the Pharaoh.

"Leave him alone, will you? Let him have a moment's peace."

The Shadows turned their body so they could face Yuugi more fully, a look of surprise increasing the brightness of their pale features. They watched Yuugi with contemplative eyes, eyes that were every color and colorless at once, bright and intense while being vacant and dull. Such ambiguity was reminiscent of their true form when in their realm, a trait they were unwilling to abandon when forcing themselves into a human form. It was an uncomfortable experience for them, but the pay-off of increased time with the Pharaoh made the effort well worth it.

They were curious about the tone Yuugi had used with them. The mortal rarely spoke with them, which was just fine with the Shadows. They held as much affection for Yuugi as he did for them, which really wasn't saying much. The two reluctantly tolerated the presence of the other, and they had only made it this far because neither had been able to intimidate the other into leaving. The pull of the Pharaoh was powerful to both of them.

"We want to see him," the Shadows said simply.

Yuugi lifted his head from his knees and looked evenly at the Shadows. They merely returned his look, their feeling of priority so obvious to Yuugi it made him want to break something really, really expensive.

"You're so damn _arrogant_," Yuugi said through gritted teeth.

"Arrogance is a mortal trait. We are not mortal."

The Shadows blinked in surprise at the expression that clouded Yuugi's face just then. They were not adept at reading human sentiment, even with the extensive time they had spent watching the Pharaoh. He was not a man who showed his emotions, or volunteered his thoughts, or acted in any manner that might indicate what he was thinking. He shared such personal things with very few people. Mostly with Yuugi. And even those times were preciously rare.

So the knowing arch of Yuugi's eyebrow did not tell them that Yuugi knew they were far more human than even they realized. It was inevitable with the amount of time they had spent observing and interacting with the mortal realm.

"What did he want to think about?" the Shadows asked abruptly.

Yuugi considered his answer for a moment before resigning in a shrug. "Hell if I know," he said as he pulled his arms tightly around his chest to try and regain the little body heat he had left.

"He's very good at thinking," the Shadows continued. They turned and readjusted themselves against Yuugi, unaware and indifferent that their presence was one of the reasons Yuugi was so uncomfortably cold. They weren't concerned with his needs. The Pharaoh was the only one worthy of their consideration.

In fact, the Shadows would be perfectly happy if the world was void of all life save their own and the Pharaoh's. They would prefer it that way. There would be nothing to distract the Pharaoh's attention from them, just as it had been for the glorious time he had lived in their realm. A time when the mortal Motou Yuugi did not exist. A time when they had no competition for the Pharaoh's affections.

"Why do you wear that?"

The Shadows paused a moment, their restless fingers stilled against the silver feathers that hung from their velvet dream catcher choker. They looked from the dream catcher to Yuugi and back to the dream catcher, pursing their pallid lips as they batted absently at the feather adornments.

"We like it."

"Why?" Yuugi asked through chattering teeth.

"It lets us catch his dreams. We like his dreams." The Shadows smiled happily. "They're very pretty."

Yuugi's voice dropped to the dead chill of the air.

"_What?_"

This time, the Shadows did not miss the emotion in Yuugi's voice. A smirk pulled at their lips while they remained facing away from Yuugi.

"His dreams are really pretty. Trivial, but pretty." There was a blatant haughtiness to their smooth voice. For a being that claimed to be immune to human emotion, they sounded remarkably smug, conceited, and proud. Proud that they had found something that Yuugi did not like. Something that, by the glare in Yuugi's eyes and the sudden stiffness in his body, apparently was something that he found both resentful and painful. The Shadows were pleased to see Yuugi upset, and satisfied with themselves that they were the cause.

It never occurred to the Shadows that the Pharaoh's dreams were personal and something they had no right to invade. They never considered that their continued interruptions of his dreams were the cause of his sleepless nights and the reason for his headaches and fatigue. As much as they new of magic and all that was supernatural, they knew very little of humanity. And that lack of knowledge was proving to be a detriment to the one human they claimed as their own.

Yuugi's fists clenched at his chest, his anger momentarily stilling his shivers. "You have no right-"

"We have every right," the Shadows interrupted easily. "It is always our right. It's how things are."

Yuugi narrowed his eyes. "It's how you keep him imprisoned."

The Shadows did not appreciate the comment. They straightened their posture and tensed their muscles, causing a ripple of their magic to suddenly burst around both them and Yuugi, ruffling hair and clothing and the feathers of their choker. They narrowed their eyes at Yuugi until they were little more than multicolored slits, growing ever more angry when Yuugi did not back down from their intimidating presence. Instead, Yuugi poised himself for the fight, hardening his features and placing his feet flat on the ground, squaring his shoulders.

The Shadows sprang to their feet. "Do not lower us to _your_ level by suggesting that we would resort to imprisonment to keep him with us. We are not so barbaric as you."

"Perhaps not," Yuugi admitted while admitting nothing. He ground his back teeth as he tried to restrain his temper. "But at least _I_ am not blind to his pain."

Yuugi took satisfaction as the Shadows winced at his words. They were a double-edged sword, used not only for their sharp accusation, but also for their truth. The Shadows were nearly blind in their human form. They weren't completely void of vision, but what they were able to see was blurred and hazy. They already had difficulty identifying items in the mortal realm, so the lack of clarity they endured with their sight made their existence that much more difficult in the human world.

It was a pet peeve of the Shadows, and another area where Yuugi was superior to them. They _wanted_ to see. Desperately they wanted to see. They wanted to see the Pharaoh as he truly was, as he was born to be. Not just the distinct energy patterns of his mind and body. But they didn't know how to. That was the simplicity of their struggle. The Shadows could not see because they did not know _how_ to see.

The Shadows suddenly smirked, their conceited confidence returning with ease. "Oh, Yuugi, how you underestimate us. It is one of your many faults." They paused to enjoy the scowl on Yuugi's face. "You think we understand him so little, when in fact we know him best of all. Even better than you. We have been with him since the moment of his birth."

"That doesn't mean anything," Yuugi said defensively.

The Shadows' smirk evolved into a lethal curl of a smile. "He talks to us. Tells us things. He likes talking to us. We like talking to him."

"He _talked_ to you," Yuugi corrected, "because he had no one else to talk to. Now he has me."

"And yet here you sit, not knowing the reason for his late night walk."

The words stung, the truth of them biting Yuugi with the ferocity of a lion. He felt his shoulders fall slightly, the Shadows dominant position standing over him making the impact of their words that much more felt.

The Shadows could smell their victory, as any predator is able to do. They had succeeded in proving their importance to the Pharaoh. They had forced Yuugi to step back and acknowledge them.

They gave the Pharaoh his power, his prestige, his immortality. They gave him company, devotion, and loyalty far outreaching what any mortal could offer him. They were his servant, as he was theirs. What could Yuugi possibly offer that they could not exceed?

"I love him," Yuugi said quietly, drawing his knees back up to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs.

The Shadows scoffed. What was love? Just some silly human emotion that meant nothing in the grand scheme that was them and the world. Love meant nothing.

"... and he chose me."

The Shadows good humor vanished like quicksilver. The calm superiority in Yuugi's eyes... they did not like it. They could argue their point until the end of time, which they would witness, but it would not win them this argument. Even they could not change what was true. With all their power, they could not change truth. When he had met Yuugi, the Pharaoh had chosen him over the Shadows.

And he had done so easily.

The Shadows stood still and quiet, watching Yuugi as he watched them. They could sense the Pharaoh's meandering approach. They sensed his distraction and knew he was unaware of their presence. They watched as Yuugi became aware of his return, his eyes flicking in the Pharaoh's direction before returning their gaze to the Shadows.

They would continue this another time. Besides, time was on their side. Everything was on their side, as it always had been. They had nothing to fear from the mortal Motou Yuugi.

Still, they felt compelled to leave Yuugi with a parting word before melting back into their realm.

"Momentarily."

**- End -**


End file.
